The interviews for a new director of housing and dining services began Thursday with the interview of Patrick J. Bradley, director of housing at Central Missouri State University.

However, this is not the first time Bradley has been on Eastern’s campus. From 1983 to 1996 Bradley held the position of assistant director of housing at Eastern, where he also received his masters of business administration in 1993.

Bradley also served as area coordinator in Eastern’s housing department for the year prior to his promotion to assistant director.

“I was the first and last hall director at the Charleston Inn, what is now the Worthington Inn,” Bradley told the attendees of the on-campus interview.

At the time Bradley was area coordinator, Eastern’s housing was so full the university housed about 80 students at the Charleston Inn. Bradley said there were about 1,000 students on the waiting list, and the university told them the first 80 who turned their applications in would have rooms at the inn.

Bradley said coming back to Eastern when housing is below occupancy would be strange because when he left the occupancy rate was above 100 percent.

Bradley moved to Central Missouri State University because he felt he could make a difference.

“I really felt I have made a difference,” Bradley said.

When Bradley appeared on Missouri Sate’s campus, he said they were in bad financial shape because of a very low occupancy rate. After making a lot of changes that were sparked by focus groups, surveys and “repackaging the product,” Bradley said he “changed the place around.”

“I can walk out of there today and feel I did a good job,” Bradley said.

One significant change in the university residence hall system was to introduce considerable technology advancements, including completely wiring the dorms with ethernet.

Bradley said the introduction of the technology advancements gave the residence halls a competitive “niche” above off-campus housing.

To address the residence hall deferred maintenance problem, Bradley said, “You have to take it one thing at a time.

“In a situation like that, you do what you have to do first,” Bradley said. “It becomes difficult, especially with no external funding.”

Bradley said the department needs to keep an active interest in enrollment and retention figures.

“We need to be key players in that,” Bradley said.